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January 27, 2021This petition of the Our Father carries with it great meaning and depth. On one hand it is pointing toward the practical daily needs we all have and our dependence upon God. On the other hand, we also see great spiritual truths here; we know that all our needs are not purely physical. We have spiritual hunger that must be satisfied as well! Taking all of this in mind, we will look at this petition in three parts over the next few weeks: 1) Why we can trust God as a loving Father; 2) Our dependence upon God and the implication of this petition on our lives in the world; and finally, 3) the great spiritual truths in this petition.
This petition calls to mind the very first words of this prayer, “Our Father.” It reminds us that we are to have confidence and filial, childlike trust in God for our daily needs. St. Anthony of Padua declared that “God never ceases to be the father of his children.” Amen! And a good Father at that. There is a certain boldness in this. My children ask me for things they need (or want), and often don’t ask for things they really need, because there is a trust there that I will provide for them as their father. They need not worry, and they have confidence in their father’s love and provision (Mat 6:8; 25-34). So too, is it with God our Father, only to a degree beyond my abilities as a human father.
What is interesting about the way Christ presents the Our Father, is those very words. “This is how you are to pray: Our Father…” (Mat 6:9). His audience would have been generally well formed in the way to pray according to Jewish customs of the time. What is so unique here is Jesus' use of the word abba. In the original language, this was the most intimate of words for “father;” perhaps equivalent to our “daddy” today. Placed into the context of first century Judea, this would have no doubt stood out to his listeners, as it should for us today. Pagan culture of the time would not have referred to any god in such intimate terms; in fact, the gods were often vile and vengeful individuals, and pagans offered sacrifices purely to fend off their wrath. In Judaism of the time there was certainly great reverence for the name of God. But he was still seen as a bit distant; “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” To refer to him as Father in such intimate terms is altogether new, and in a way, quite bold. Even today in a post-Christian society, as it has been increasingly labeled, this seems a bit bold.
In the Mass, right before we pray the Our Father, we hear the words, “Informed by divine teaching we dare to say…” What is so daring? What is so bold? The God of all creation, the God who holds all things together, the God that holds my next breath in his hand, he is my loving father. He loves me, as St. Augustine said, “as if there were only one of [me] to love.” This speaks directly to that personal, intimate relationship that God desires to have with each one of us! Christ reveals him to us as our loving Father and his Spirit makes us children of our heavenly Father. Through the sanctifying grace in the sacraments and the power of the Holy Spirit he awakens in us a greater sense of wonder and a desire to act as his children. As the YouCat states it, “We can be so bold as to address God as Father because Jesus has called us to a close relationship with himself and made us children of God” (515). With this, we can go forward with humble boldness; with trust and confidence.
Knowing that so many have had negative experiences with parents and fathers, I do think it is important to stress, no matter our own experience with earthly parents, that God is always and forever a good, good Father. He is all that is good in our experience with our earthly parents, all that we ever wanted in earthly parents, only so much more and without measure! He never ceases to be our loving father, who is worthy of all our trust. At the core of this petition is the realization that we are children of the Father, and what joy this should bring us! No doubt God our father takes delight in hearing those words, “Our Father,” just as Jesus prayed them. I too am moved every time my children say, “Daddy.”
One last important point with the phrase, “Our Father:” This directly relates to this petition; not only does the word “Father” express a profound reality in the life of the Church, so too does the word “our.” Notice we do not pray, “my Father who art in heaven.” Neither do we pray, “Give me this day my daily bread.” Here we pray “our,” we pray “us,” because the Church of Christ is the communion of a multitude of brothers and sisters who have but “one heart and mind” (Acts 4:32). We are to offer praise to our loving Father, to know him, love him, serve him; to live together as though we were of one heart and one mind. We are a communion of brothers and sisters in Christ and we are to live accordingly.